Musing and Meanderings on Topics Large and Small
One thing about advertising and marketing folks is that they have experience and opinions about what’s good or bad, what works or what doesn’t, and just about everything else. We’ve set up this forum to share our thoughts, ideas, and opinions with you.
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Sticks and Stones . . . |
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I have a strong dislike of political advertising, and the 2008 presidential campaign advertising is a great example of why. In general, when candidates aren’t slinging mud and performing character assassinations, they’re making promises they know they’ll never be able to keep. And that’s bad enough. Lying is lying, no matter the degree.
When it goes a step further, to name calling and out-and-out false accusations, it sends my head spinning! Imagine if this were the norm in business-to-business advertising. Any advertising, for that matter. What would anyone in their right mind hope to gain by making false claims and accusations about themselves and competitors to the people whom they hope to gain their trust and business? A one-time sale at best is all I can imagine. And a mistrust of the company, or industry as a whole, is likely to follow.
Advertising has an unfortunate reputation, and other than the mostly non-effective but cute Super Bowl ads once a year, most people don’t like or trust it or the people that produce it. And that’s unfortunate, because many agencies and their people do it right. And, they know a negative approach will only result in more negative feelings and negative results.
As for the “sticks and stones” advertising folks, Sominex® might help you sleep at night—at least that’s their promise.
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Bemused |
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GM has been running ads based on the song “Come and Get,” encouraging people to hurry in because “it's going fast.” I suspect GM actually hopes people don't know the song, since the real subject is a fool and his money.
Hewlett-Packard is trying to convince companies that HP's products help build a stronger brand. Of all the ingredients that go into brand building, I wouldn't put computers and digital imaging devices anywhere near the top of the list. I can't imagine a chief marketing officer exclaiming, “We've got to build and maintain our brand. Quick, buy some computers and printers!”
Thinking outside the box is great—so long as you don't lose sight of the box.
Make war, not love?
From their metaphors, marketing people seem more interested in battling competitors than in wooing customers. This is a huge mistake, especially when communicating with a technical audience such as engineers.
There is large disconnect between advertising folk and the engineers they try to sell to. Engineers like facts, read graphs, understand specifications, and have a deep distrust of empty hype. Ad creatives are usually 180 degrees opposite engineers. Graphs are boring, specifications are an unfathomable mystery, and boasting of world-class, best-of-breed products sure beats the harder work of proving it. If you’re going to ask your prospects to “Come and Get It,” make sure there something there they actually want.
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Expect the Unexpected |
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What you get from your advertising agency is probably largely what you expect. Do you direct them to emulate a competitor? Have you seen "that ad" before? Have you seen it in Communications Arts? Sure it's hard work to be original, and clever, and creative—unexpected. But if you require it from your agency, it's what you'll get. And you and your audience will be pleasantly surprised. |
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